Forgiving The Past
by AlastairLove
Summary: Hermione's mother always told her to forgive and forget,which sometimes leads to love and happiness. She never really understood the truth behind her words til she is forced to work with an unwilling Draco, to help rebuild the Ministry. Then something starts to happen between the two, that neither wants to admit. Something far more magical then any thing else in their world. R
1. Prologue

~Prologue~

One Year After The War

Hermione held onto both Harry and Ron, her eyes filling to the brim with tears. her emotions running wild with a terrible mixture of happiness, sadness, fear and loss. So many lives were lost, so many buildings and home destroyed, and so many families broken beyond repair, all for the sake of purity. It was stupid and now the only people she had left were leaving and starting their own lives, they were moving on.

Harry was starting a family with Ginny and Ron was leaving to study Dragons with his brother in Romania. It didn't seem fair to her. She didn't know what to do now, her, Hermione Granger, the girl who always had a plan, the girl who knew everything, didn't know what to do with herself. She began to cry as she tightened her grip on Harry's tuxedo, her tears threatening to stain the collar.

"Hermione. Please stop crying. Ginny and I won't be far, should you need us." Harry said softly.

"I know Harry. It's just. It was always just us three, us three against the world. And now, bloody hell, now its just me." She began to sob harder.

"Bloody Hell, Hermione. We aren't dead. We are just..." Ron sighed between sentences. "We are just moving on. We need to." He pulled back and looked at his friends.

"Besides this is what owls are for, eh?" He smiled sadly.

Hermione smiled, released her grip on Harry and wiped her tears. She was dressed in a light pink cocktail dress with red lace on the bottom. The dress was nicely tailored and gathered around her waist, it showed off her curves nicely as well as hiding a little chub she had gained in the past year.

"Suppose your right. I just don't know what I should do... with myself... now."

"Maybe I can help." A female voice rang out from behind the Golden Trio.

"I am Belinda Thornwood. I work in the Ministry." She smiled and tilted her head a bit to show respect.

"I am currently looking for people of high standing, such as yourself Miss Granger, to help us rebuild the Ministry... In more ways then one. If your interested that is." Belinda held out a piece of paper with a small grin to Hermione.


	2. Ch 1 Upsetting Tasks

Chapter 1  
Upsetting Tasks

Thump. Thud. Screech. Thump. Thud. Screech. Magic or not the sound couldn't be helped and it was getting on her nerves. Thump. Thud. Before the screech could hit her ears Hermione cast a spell to deafen her to the high frequency of the horrible sound. The relief felt amazing, especially after two full days of it. Why she hadn't thought to do this before was beyond her. The sounds of people cleaning up above her made her feel uneasy, but she had no choice.

Hermione was stuck in the memories archives at the present time, she was in charge of cataloging what was still there and what was gone. In her hands she held a book of the logged items, in order by date not by where they were located. She also had to look into each and everyone to see which were which. Hermione put up a fair fight over this, but lost in the end. Belinda was insistant, over the fact that only hermione was trusted enough with what was in the orbs. She was just about to dive into another boring court case when Belinda showed up.

Hermione was wearing a form fitting white top, a grey knee length skirt, black tights and browns shoes. Her hair was neatly tied into a bun, her entire outfit was given to her by Belinda who was right in guessing that she did not actually own any business attire.

"Miss Granger please hold off a second. I have another favor to ask of you." Belinda gave a soft smile, a smile that made one feel as if there was a horrible, horrible motive. A smile that give a bad feeling, and thats exactly what Hermione was getting, a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomache.

"What is it Belinda?" She asked just as a pillar of black smoke signaled that someone had just apparated into the room with them.

"I need you to supervise someone. Someone your are quite familiar with, I am sure." Belinda gestured for the person to step forward.

"Bloody Hell. You can not be serious. She is going to be watching me?!" A familiar deep male voice rang out, making Hermione groan. He was the last person she wanted to see, in fact she never wanted to see him or his stunning green eyes or striking blond hair again, yet here he was. He was dressed in all black, save for a bright green necklace.

"Hermione." Belinda started to say.

"No! I refuse to be any where near that beastly duff." She growled turning back around hoping that was that, but to her dismay it wasn't.

"Really Hermione! Can't you just forgive Mr. Malfoy?" Belinda started again. Draco was keeping quiet now, waiting for Belinda to realize it was a no on both ends.

"No! I can not. Not for the torments and not for the bloody war! He has no right to be any where but Azkaban, with his worthless father!" She huffed, sending Draco into a fury.

"Listen here you little slag! my father is not worthless, you filthy fucking mudblood!"

Belinda put a silencing spell on both of them, not wanting the cursing to get worse then it already had. She was already blushing like a green girl, these kids had quite a vocabulary.

"Now, Hermione seeing as neither of you like each other very much. I am making this an order not a favor, as such you will be moved up stairs into a shared office. Where both of you will get along and sort out paper work. Mr. Malfoy." She turned to him. "You have no time nor chance to say no. You have to do this or you will be sent off... Are we clear? Both of you?" She reversed the spell, so they could answer.

"Yes, Miss Thornwood." They responded together both feeling like they were back in school. Shooting the other a glare that could turn ice to stone, Hermione walked slowly to Belinda, her eyes never leaving Draco's.

He hated this, more then he could express. Despite the war being over and despite her side winning, he still felt like she was below him, or so he wanted people to believe thats how he felt. It was how he was raised to feel, to believe, but in all honesty he didn't feel that way at all. But after all these years he doubted she would forgive him, and he was fine with that. He knew he was going to die alone.

**A/n: How was that? I am also writing another fanfic but for Naruto... if interested...**

**~Alastair**


	3. Ch 2 Orbs and Smoke

~ Chapter 2~  
Orbs and Smoke

Draco turned his gaze to Hermione and quickly hardened his stare, not realizing she had already seen the emotion that laid behind those green eyes of his. He took in her appearance for the first time in a year. Looking her up and down every slowly her found that she had changed quite a bit in that short time. Her hair was much longer, her skin was paled to porcelain perfection and her eyes looked like the finestr chocolate. Draco let out a loud groan, making Hermione give him a questioning look. 'Why the hell am I thinking of her that way?!' He asked himself. 'I only want forgiveness. Remember that you idiot.' He scolded himself.

"Malfoy?" She questioned softly, trying to break him out of his little daze. The expression she saw, confused her. She had no idea she could ever see that kind of emotion in those depths, it shocked her to say the least. Sure, the war took its toll on everyone and Draco was no exception, but to see that in his eyes, made her wonder about the male before her. He was Lord Voldemort's pet, his favorite death eater. Seeing him now, seeing that look, Hermione began to wonder if he even wanted that.

"Sure. Here." She handed him one of the many spheres around her.

"What am I supposed to do with this exactly?" Draco grumbled staring at the smokey orb in his palm. It looked like a fogged over crystal ball, one that his mother would have had.

"Check it's contents, catalog it and place it where it belongs." She stated, handing him her log book as well. Once he took it she pulled out her wand and picked up yet another sphere. This one felt odd, it was heavier than the others and it was darker. She furrowed her brow and pointed her wand to it. Draco happened to glance at Hermione just as she pointed her wand at the orb in her hand. His eyes widened, that wasn't a prophecy record. Thinking quickly he pulled out his own wand and readied himself.

"Deletrius" He yelled pointing it at the orb. A light green glow shot from his wand, surrounded the orb, and turned it to dust in Hermione's hand. The now stunned Hermione turned her widened gaze to Draco's hardened stare. 'If that spell had hit me, I'd be dead.' She thought, her body now trembling. It had been a year since she faced any danger what so ever, so this was unprepared for.

"D..Draco..." She managed to get out before her legs gave way under her and she fell on her rump, hitting cold hard stone. Her wand dropped and slid under the table. Draco gently placed his wand back in his robes and looked down at her trembling form. He watched as her breathing began pained and heavy.

"Granger... Are you..?" Hermione's eyes glazed over and began to close, her body went slack and she soon fainted. Draco watched as she simply crumpled farther to the ground.

"Fucking lovely..." He mumbled as he moved to her side. Draco hovered over her and cocked his head to the side. Her hair had fallen into her face, her cheeks were red and her clothing was in slight disarray. She had really been caught off guard by the his sudden spell. A sly grin crossed his delicate lips. This wasn't going to be as bad as he thought, if he could get her to faint by a simple desolving spell then what can he do with a riskier one?

After a few minutes Draco finally squatted down beside her and brushed her hair from her face, taking the time to further examine her features. He always thought she was pretty, and that it was a shame she wasn't a pureblood. Seeing her now didn't change that fact, even seeing that she had gained a bit of weight. Draco hated her, yet he felt himself being drawn to her beauty and brains. He leaned farther over and gently lifted her head, resting it in the crook of hhis neck. Draco shifted her weight slightly, moving his other arm under her legs and lifted her up, bridal style. She was lighter than she looked, he mused.

-============================Two Hours Later===========================-

Hermione groans, her head is pounding and her body aches. She lifted her arm to her head and tried to get the pain to stop. Suddenly the realization hit her, she wasn't in the prophecy room and the last thing she remembered was Draco shooting a spell at her, which missed at hit the orb she was holding. She sat up quickly, which didn't help her head much, but she was very angry now and she wanted Draco's blood in a pitcher.

"Good to see you're awake finally." A deep voice spoke from a corner in the room. "Here." Draco stepped close to her and offered her a piece of chocolate.

"You fucking piece of shit! You tried to kill me!" Hermione screamed.

"No." Draco replied simply.

"Yes! Unless you forgot, I was there!"

"I did not try to kill you Granger now listen. That orb-"

"Thats right! You destroyed Ministry property!" She cut in.

"Oh just shut up and listen! That orb was a trap!" Draco raised his voice above hers.

"No I... What do you mean it was a trap?" She cocked her head and looked at him confused. Her hair fell over to one side revealing her pale neck.

"Remember when your army and.. the Deatheaters fought in the hall? And most the those orbs were destroyed?" He asked gently, trying to keep the conflict to a minimum.

"Yes, I remember."

"Not all the orbs in there were there before that, those that weren't are... traps. If anyone tried to look into one, as one might a Prophecy orb I suppose, then their memories will be taken as will their will."

Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. No one would have noticed them being dropped, no one would have cared even after the battle was over to look them over, at least not til later. She looked at his face trying to see if there was any chance he was lying to safe himself. Upon seeing no sign she sighed.

"Your telling the truth aren't you? You really didn't try and kill me, for once." She leaned back.

"I am and no I didn't." He looked down at his hands, which still held the chocolate.

"You really should eat this Granger." He stated and offered it to her once again.


End file.
